Mission StatementThe mission of Prevent A Litter Veterinary Hospital is to eliminate the killing of healthy, otherwise adoptable companion animals simply because they are surplus and cannot be placed in loving homes. P.A.L. plans to accomplish this goal by providing high quality, affordable, and accessible spay & neuter services to the public without regard to income or location.

These are just a few of the many stories P.A.L. has to share. Please visit our website at www.preventalitter.org to see more stories.

Statements

MissionThe mission of Prevent A Litter Veterinary Hospital is to eliminate the killing of healthy, otherwise adoptable companion animals simply because they are surplus and cannot be placed in loving homes. P.A.L. plans to accomplish this goal by providing high quality, affordable, and accessible spay & neuter services to the public without regard to income or location.

Impact

As an organization dedicated to ending companion animal overpopulation, Prevent A Litter's greatest accomplishment each year will always be the number of animals we have spay/neutered. Our 2014 statistics are:

283 - free spays or neuters

6,307 - total spays & neuters

87,747 - total of spays & neuters since opening in 1999

For many of our clients however, we are more than just a spay/neuter clinic. We are often the only vet their animal will see all year. We provide yearly vaccinations and testing for animals that are already spayed & neutered and get to see many of our furry clients year after year. As a fully licensed hospital, we are also able to offer medical treatments such as hernia repair, tumor removal, eye enucleation and many other surgeries to improve and often save an animal’s life.

We offer our animal clients and their human companions heartfelt care and compassion. We provide a 24 hour emergency number for surgical patients and offer rechecks free of charge. Our small staff could be seen by some as a fault, but if you ask any one of our clients they will tell you they love the personal one-on-one attention they and their animals receive. Our receptionists are knowledgeable and caring, our surgical staff are trained and licensed, and our veterinarian has been with us since opening in April 1999. We love what we do and we would love your support!

Needs

1. We are looking for a volunteer with graphic art skills to help us with our website as well as a PAL T-Shirt design.

2. We would like to hire an additional vet to provide high quality surgery for 30 to 35 animals a day and other services.

3. Since the cost of operating the hospital is not covered by the fees for service, we need donations in any amount to the General Fund, Coins for Critters, and the Special Surgeries Fund.

The General Fund is not glamorous but it pays for the lights that enable

the surgeon to see his patient, phone, computer service, payroll, insurance,

building maintenance, as well as medical and office supplies to name a few.

5. Volunteers are needed for special events and programs during the year. Anyone with special talents (painting, plumbing,etc.) are also welcome!

Background

Care About The Strays (CATS) was founded in Virginia in 1992. CATS’ mission was to provide low cost spay/neuter and emergency veterinary care through referrals and financial support to participating full service vet hospitals.

In 1992, rescue and adoption were the only services available for stray animals in Richmond. While adoption of stray animals is essential, it only deals with the symptom of the problem. Spay/neuter is the solution to companion animal overpopulation. Helping people find affordable spay/neuter prevents unwanted births, thereby lowering the number of animals who end up in shelters waiting for a home.

CATS founder and CEO, Susan DeFazio, realized the most efficient way to provide the community with high quality, low cost spay and neuter services would be to build a clinic dedicated to that idea. In 1999, after several years of fundraising, Prevent A Litter Veterinary Hospital was born! Prevent A Litter was the 1st non-profit spay/neuter clinic in Virginia and over the last 16 years has developed a reputation for excellence, dedication, and most importantly compassion.

Prevent A Litter has spayed/neutered in excess of 87,000 animals and relies on the generosity of individuals to continue its important work.

Areas of Service

Areas Served

Area

Statewide

Board Chair

Board ChairMs. Susan Aburn Defazio

Company AffiliationBoard Chair / Director

TermJan 2014 to Dec 2017

Emailpal@preventalitter.org

Board of Directors

Board Members

Name

Affiliation

Ms. Susan Aburn Defazio

Board Chair / Director

Mrs. Lissa Fischer

Board Member

Mr. John Fischer

Board Member

Board Demographics - Ethnicity

African American/Black0

Asian American/Pacific Islander0

Caucasian3

Hispanic/Latino0

Native American/American Indian0

Board Demographics - Gender

Male1

Female2

Governance

Board Term Lengths1

Board Term Limits0

Board Meeting Attendance %100

Written Board Selection Criteria?No

Written Conflict of Interest Policy?No

Percentage Making Monetary Contributions100

Percentage Making In-Kind Contributions67

Number of Full Board Meetings Annually3

Other Boards

The tables below contain information about other groups that advise this nonprofit on operations and projects.

Prevent A Litter's spay & neuter program is
affordable, accessible, and open to everyone without regard to income or
location! As Virginia's first non-profit spay & neuter clinic, we are proud
to say we have spayed/neutered more than 76,000 animals preventing
millions of unwanted births and decreasing the need for euthanasia across the
state.

Our fees for spay & neuter are as follows:

Cats
- strays and ferals welcome!

$35 – Female

$25 – Male

Dogs

Female Male

Under 40 lbs $45 $35

41 lbs – 99 lbs $60 $50

100 lbs – 125 lbs $95

Rabbits

$80 – Female

$55 – Male

P.A.L. advocates and
performs pediatric spays and neuters. We ask that kittens be at least 8 weeks
of age and weigh a minimum of two pounds; we ask that dogs be at least 10 to 14
weeks of age depending on breed and size.

Population ServedGeneral/Unspecified

Short Term Success

Spay & neuter has an impact on an individual level as well. Animals, and their caretakers, benefit from this procedure in the following ways:

Cessation of heat cycles

Diminished desire to roam

Decreased risk for many types of cancer

Diminished aggression

Decreased desire to mark territory (urine marking)

Prevents unwanted litters

In short, spaying and neutering is not only the responsible choice, it also makes for a more harmonious and healthy lifestyle.

Long Term Success

Spay & neuter is one step, out of many, that must be taken in order to end the needless killing of healthy animals simply because they are surplus and cannot be placed in loving homes.

Although no organization studying the impact of spay & neuter yet exists, we are able to monitor euthanasia statistics through the VDACS website (http://www.virginia.gov/vdacs_ar/cgi-bin/Vdacs_search.cgi). It is clear that euthanasia in the Commonwealth of Virginia has drastically decreased over the last ten years. We believe this reduction is due to affordable, accessible spay & neuter services, increased rescue activity, as well as increased awareness and attention paid to feral cats.

Prevent A Litter plans to continue our efforts to end companion animal overpopulation and sincerely hopes to spay & neuter ourselves out of business!

The cost of veterinary care seems continually on the rise while the
household budget for many American families gets smaller and tighter. What was
once considered routine vet care (rabies vaccination, heartworm preventative,
etc) has, for many, become an unmanageable expense.

In an effort to help animals in loving homes stay healthy, Prevent A
Litter provides routine yearly vet care at a low cost for animals that are
already spayed or neutered. We do not charge an “office visit” or “doctor’s
visit” fee so if your cat or dog needs a rabies vaccination it would just
cost $15. We offer these services
on a walk-in basis (even on Saturdays!) to make caring for an animal affordable
and easy for almost every budget and schedule.

For a complete list of walk-in services and pricing, please visit our
website at www.preventalitter.org.

As a fully licensed hospital we are able to offer many other
life saving/improving surgeries to animals that would otherwise receive no
care. We perform surgeries such as hernia repairs, growth/mass/tumor removals,
eye enucleations and many more. We frequently provide this service at no charge
and rely on the compassion and generosity of donors to help us continue to help
suffering animals. Please take a moment to look over some of the stories in the other documents section.